1967 Riva Junior Ski Boat
Chassis no. 219

Founded in 1842 by skilled carpenter Pietro Riva, the company that bore his name was located at Sarnico, a small town on the shores of Lago d'Iseo in northern Italy. By the 1930s Riva was a leading manufacturer of small racing boats, its products setting world speed records and winning countless races, and after WW2 was quick to exploit the increasing popularity of water skiing. In the 1950s the founder's grandson Carlo transformed the business, creating wooden boats of a style and elegance that surpassed all rivals, gaining the Italian firm an international reputation. Like compatriot Ferrari on the road, Riva enjoyed an imperious profile on the water, being favoured by royalty, industrialists and movie stars: Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers being numbered among the latter. In 1969 Carlo sold the company to an American firm, Whittaker, whose glassfibre technology was soon employed in manufacturing a new range of boats at Sarnico, many of which were exact copies of previous wooden designs.

The mahogany-hulled Riva Junior was first introduced in 1966 as the ideal runabout, its circa 50mph top speed being more than enough for water skiing. Of 5.7 metres in length and with a beam of 2.17 metres, the Junior was originally fitted with a single 5.7-litre Riva Crusader V8 engine producing 190bhp. Only 626 were built.

This particular Junior was purchased new in 1967 in Genoa by a Mr Boleri, as evidenced by hand-written build sheets supplied with the boat by Riva. The boat was restored in 2014 when the complete rear transom was replaced using correct original materials and the vessel repainted, receiving no fewer than 17 coats of varnish! The engine has been serviced and the boat is described by the vendor as in good condition throughout.